I am wondering how their prices are so low? They have nice looking Batiks (at least in the web and catalog photos--haven't seen any in person) but they are almost $5 per yard cheaper than batiks at my LQS. Is this indicative of poor quality?

I would like to buy some of the thread and some batiks and a quilt kit but don't want quality that is less than very good.

What is your experience with Connecting Threads products??

While they are thinner than some of the ones by Hoffman, Timeless Treasures, etc., they are still nice quality. I've just started using them and am happy so far.

I like Connecting threads. I order from them all the time.

I order charm packs of the lines of fabric before I order yardage. Then I can judge the color and quality. I have never been disappointed by connecting threads

Love their thread!!! Theie kits are great too-lots of leftover fabric. Enjoy!

I love their products. The fabrics I have purchased are soft and consistent. And their thread is PHENOMENAL. Very little lint!
And they have excellent clearance prices!

I have been very happy with their batiks and their thread. I didn't find the batiks any thinner than LQS fabric, and the thread is great.
Sue

Same here. I backed one of my quilts with their batiks and found it to be a very good quality. :-D

I am a batik snob and only buy the ones from the LQS. I decided to give theirs a chance and the only thing I do not like is they fray a little more and are not as thick waxy feeling as the LQS ones. I am going to use them in my GFG I am working on and would not hesitate to order for a project but if you are expecting them to be like the LQS they are not.

Now their thread is great, my machine hums with it and it not anymore linty than the coats and clark or star brand from LQS. It feeds nicely through the needle for FMQ practice. I will be buying more when it goes on sale.

I buy their thread all the time. I ahven't tried the fabric only because many in my family are small business owners and over the years I have tried as long as possible to support local small businesses so I try to buy from LQS when I can.

This ^^^^ is what I do. I purchase a charm pack of each line and all of the colors in their solids, mirage and basics. Then I know what the real color will be when I get it. And it is also great for picking complimentary pieces for a focal fabric. I put a 'header' on the pieces as they come in. The line name, color number and all the other information to locate them easily. I then use double-sided tape and mount them to the info cards. I punch a hole in the corner and group them on rings. When I am trying to figure something out, I pick out the rings that I need, sit down with my focal print or my pattern and figure things out.

And actually I like that better than going to the fabric store. There are many pluses to their stuff - fabrics are gorgeous and I love the feel of them - their yard is at least 37" - and their thread is fab-u-lous. If I do go to the fabric store (LQS, HobbyLobby, etc) then I usually buy things that I wasn't needing at this point, and usually don't pick up what I really came for. HTH

NO....they are NOT poor Qualilty!! I buy from Connecting Threads all the time, and I am very very pleased with their fabrics. And their batiks are just as nice, and they don't feel "waxy" when you get them.

It's because they're not LQS quality. Rather thin, but some feel it's worth the money. I don't...

I have made several purchases of fabric and thread and I have not been disappointed in anything I have received. I think their prices are low because they are on-line only. No brick and mortar store.

I made a quilt from their batiks for my grandson and it turned out well and has held up well. I've used lots of their fabrics and threads and have never had a single problem.

Have only bought thread and some other notions so far. I love their thread for piecing and appliqueing.

Aren't they also the manufacturer of their own fabric lines? This means that there is no distributor and no re-seller to have markups along the way. (I have a friend who is a marketer and works in between the food manufacturers and the distributors of certain food brands, so there may even be more levels -- all who mark up the price to make their own piece of the profit).

I have had no problems with CT fabrics. While I do think their quality is a little lower than the LQS, I would put them on par with Hancock Fabrics and Joanns quilt fabric lines. Haven't seen WalMarts in a long time, but if I had to guess I would say CT was higher quality, only because HF and J's are generally higher quality than WM.

Also I can't afford for every quilt I make to be LQS quality -- especially baby blankets, etc. I wish I could...but at $10+ per yard, I wouldn't be able to afford it!

I just bought a piece of flannel for potato bags from them. It feels wonderful, but it hasn't been washed yet. It looks like a good quality flannel. I do like their thread and their sales are great, especially the books, right now 40% off!

mainly their prices used to be lower because THEY own the pattern/designs and used to have it printed themselves. Now that it is farmed overseas (like all else) the prices are about the same, but the quality is really less than what it was a few years back.
THe last black batik I got from them was so sheer, I had to put muslin behind it to give it body!
THeir Mirage line used to be good too, but again, very thin now, and not really dyed through like it used to. It is very WHITE on the back of the fabric.

I've purchased from them and I haven't had any problem with the fabrics yet. As for thread, I haven't ordered any of that.

I've been very happy with the fabrics I purchase from Connecting Threads. I recently made a D9P out of Batik fat quarters from connecting threads. When I had the top done I went to my LQS to get a batik for the back and in comparison the FQ from Connecting and the yardage from the LQS were of very similar quality. The LQS actually shrunk more when prewashed than I would have expected.

They are less expensive because they produce their own products. No middlemen. I like the quality and buy from them a lot.

I think their fabric and thread is of good quality. I recently made a baby quilt out of their flannel and it was soft and lovely. I don't know how they keep their prices low but I am going to buy from them to encourage the low pricing!

I have never bought any of their fabric...BUT...I have one spool of every color thread they have of the Essentials line. I am really pleased with the thread and I have noticed that my machine doesn't fill up with lint like other brands of thread.
I can't wait to use all this thread up so I can buy MORE. lolol
I dont think you will be disappointed in their threads. :)

I have only ordered their batiks once. I didn't think the quality was quite as nice as say a Hoffman batik or a Timeless Treasure Tonga, but it was still very nice and I have to say they have EXCELLENT customer service. One of the batiks I ordered they sent the wrong color. I called them and they replaced it with the right color no questions asked and I got to keep the wrong one as well.

I have found name brand batiks on line for around the same price from places like thousands of bolts. They may not be the newest colors or lines but who cares. I have also gotten wonderful batiks from Fabric Depot when they are having a good sale for around $6.50 to $7 p/y.

I would order batiks from CT again, but I am not a fan of their Essential threads. I do like looking at their catalog though!

One other thing, CT is affiliated with The Artists Club a resource for tole painting supplies and an on line source for knitting supplies. Their low prices might also reflect their buying power when combined with these other wholly owned subsidiaries.

love their fabric. Great buys.

I've purchased a few of their fabric (batik and print) and they are OK. Better than most of the fabric I've seen at Joanne's, but not quite as good as most of the fabric I've seen an LQS. I say "most" because there are always exceptions in both directions.

Their thread is another story. I bought I think 10 spools in different colors with the intention to use on a landscape quilt. I used a tiny bit of I think 3 colors and gave up and sold the whole lot here on QB. I HATED that thread. It says it's 50wt but when compared to a 50wt higher quality thread (like Aurifil or Superior to name only two) the CT thread was more than twice as thick. Also, the amount of thread lint was HORRIBLE. I was FMQ'ing little feet (just the outline of the foot!) and I did 4-5 feet that were only 4" long (so total thread used is perhaps a few yards tops??) and when I was done there was so much lint it covered the whole needle shaft about 1/2" all the way around. SERIOUSLY. I was even using a larger needle than I would have ordinarily used with a 50wt thread.

So from me ...

Fabric - thumbs up
Thread - thumbs down

I lov ehte connecting threads batiks. I think that they are just as good as the lqs and even better for the price. but that is me. never had a problem with their batiks at all. try some and you will see.

I've never had a problem with the fabric and I love the quilt kits. I always buy the quilt kits when they go on clearance. I'm doing the 2011 Piecemakers Calendar quilt using CT batiks fat quarter sampler. No fraying so it's easy to applique. I use the CT poly on the large cone for bobbin thread. It's thin and strong. Check out CT Blog, lots of free patterns and free online quilt classes.

Love their item. I use it all the time.

its not because they are not quality products- it's because they order larger shipments and pass the savings on to their customers....as with lots of things- the more you buy the better price you get often in a retail setting- at one of our lqs i know if the owner buys one bolt each of a line it is one price- if she were to order 5 bolts each it would be less- and 10 bolts even less...that is how they do it.

Their prices are lower because they are the manufacturer. You are not buying from a middleman so essentially we are getting wholesale prices.

I love their fabric. I have never been disappointed in the quality. Their batiks are lovely to work with and I have not had any of the colors run. I think they do a better job of removing excess dye. My only problem is seeing the colors correctly on my monitor.

I have not tried their batiks but i like their prints and thread.

I buy threads from them and it is good quality.

i agree, the quality is not LQS and for me its not worth the money.

you can purchase LQS quality online at many shops for the same price and thats where i prefer to spend my shopper dollar.

Can you name some of the comparable online shopping? I ask because I haven't bought much fabric and would like to build a stash. All we have is JoAnns and WalMart. I like shopping online with a recomendation.

fancy_fabric, please share with us a few of your online sources with good prices that we can look at and hopefully continue our fabric buying. I do like helping owner run businesses when I can.

I like connecting threads. :thumbup:

So far I've never been disappointed with anything that I've ordered from them. :thumbup:

Very reputable company. You get a lot of bang for your buck by shopping there and shipping is free after $50. I brought a FQ of each of their batiks and they are fine.